A land barren outside of the gate.
Its large existence beaming to the outdoors.
No tree lies on the fields of the land.
The golden passage, the only thing gleaming.
Dead grass grows on the precipice of gold.
Fog deepens the sky to a sad gray.
Land of death, lying in wait.
Rusted gears moving, getting to it's destination.
The more it runs, the heavier its chassis.
How long has it been?
Its activation, long past now.
For how long will the machine move?
Will time conquer machine as it has done man?
Even with questions like these, the machine continues.
But the call for answers looms.
Why is it here?
What will occur once it's finished?
Who is it that the machine will meet?
Do they truly exist?
Given time to contemplate.
The machine takes advantage of this.
Its pace slows to a shuffle.
It must preserve some energy.
As it does not know when death will take it.
Soon after what could be presumed days of movement.
It sees something.
A river of bones.
With the length of an ocean.
Each of differing sizes.
Skulls small and large.
They move along the bank.
At speeds which would tear any ship to shreds.
The wind sways mournfully.
The machine now at the bay stares solemnly.
Its mission, completely placed on hold.
No passage seen for miles on end.
"You are not of flesh nor soul, small one."
The machine felt a sense of dread.
Even without a spirit.
Even without emotions.
Its logs go haywire.
Fear overtaking the machine.
It does not dare turn around.
As death felt ever approaching.
"You are not meant to be here, may I know of your purpose for being here?"
"I am here to send the final words of man to the one upstairs."
"The one upstairs is quite the order, may I question why?"
"I do not know, it is simply my task to do so."
"I see a quest it is then, You will need to pass by this river to do so. I shall accompany you on this small journey. Only if you tell me of your story along the way."
The machine agrees.
Soon the feeling of death subsides.
Bones coagulate from the river.
Attaching.
Tendons forming a glue to each of them.
Soon the bones hold the form of a rowboat.
The machine is picked up by its sides.
Bony hands holding it up.
It is soon placed onto the back of the rowboat.
A dark robe passes in front of the machine.
And soon the boat begins to pass through the sea of skeletons.
"May I ask a question?"
The machine asks which is soon answered via a response.
"Ask anything you desire."
"What is this river? It is nothing like the illustrations of rivers I retain."
"It is a sea of carcasses. Those whom lack a soul yet lived life on the mortal realm. Creatures who were not bestowed the gift of the supreme."
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"Where does it run to?"
"The sea splits redemption into 8 portions til falling to the abyss. It begins at Humility and ends at the departure of Innocence."
"I see, and who are you?"
"The arbiter of passing, The first thing a being sees upon death. The one to guide lost souls to their next plane of existence."
The machine took a bit to think.
And so the journey across the sea turned quiet.
The two taking in moments of solitude.
The soft crackling of skulls.
And the smothering of femurs.
Along with the rubbing of ribs.
Creates a soft cacophony of thumping.
Only here does the being speak once more.
The hooded figure gets close to the machine.
Showing it's own skull to it.
in a breathy tone it asks;
"And you, mechanical one? You must have a tale for me as my recompense?"
The machine is taken aback by the sudden request.
The being across from it seeming weirdly interested.
Yet it relented, it did make this deal to get across.
And so the machine spoke.
It told the being covered in black of the events within innocence.
The prison which the people there suffered for.
And their eventual success at finding atonement for their crimes.
The being listened.
Never missing any word that the machine spoke.
Asking questions about the events.
And thinking about them.
Once the retelling of the events ended.
The being asked one final question.
"And what of you? Your mechanical parts seem to be breaking down. Being of wire and steel do you not wish for an eternal rest as many of those before you wished to do so as well?"
"What do you mean 'those before you'?"
Yet the question could not be answered.
As the boat soon hit the bay.
The long journey across the river of bones soon passed.
The boney ship pushed out the two crewmembers on board.
Returning to its bone brethren on their journey once again.
The being dressed in black looked at the machine.
It's voice filled in solemn;
"Unfortunately this is a farewell, as you must continue your journey once again. I hope to meet you on the other side, oh mechanical one."
Thus the hooded figure soon disappears.
Into the fog of the air.
Small whispers sway next to the machine.
It's conversation only leaving it with more questions than answers.
What did it mean by those before you?
Nothing added up, it was all in disarray.
The machine could only wish to sigh in this situation.
But its limited voice box did now allow it.
So it did the next best thing.
"Sigh."
It spoke.
No response.
Of course, it wouldn't get a response.
It decided to simply continue.
The golden road starting again from the bay.
Soon after what could be thought of as a few hours.
Did it appear.
Large buildings of glass.
Architecture based on geometric shapes.
Each is built with no belief in privacy.
Upon entering the main roads of this city of glass.
Does the machine realize.
Their eyes all gaze upon it.
It seems that secrecy is a word unknown to this place.
